Dubai Metro Blue Line station will be the tallest in the world

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai attended the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the first Dubai Metro Blue Line station: Emaar Properties Metro Station.

Emaar secured the naming rights for the station for ten years, starting from its official inauguration in 2029.  A brand-new Dubai Metro station design was also unveiled for the station. And it doesn’t look like any of the stations we currently have.

The Emaar Properties Metro Station will be the highest metro station in the world, standing at 74 meters.

This particular station will mark the starting point of the 30-kilometer Blue Line, which will increase the Dubai Metro’s entire length to 131 kilometers across 78 stations.

The important question: When will operations begin?

The Dubai Metro Blue Line will be ready to start operations on September 9, 2029, aka 09-09-29 as announced by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority.

For those of us who use the Dubai Metro, we know that this is an ode to the opening of the original Dubai Metro, which opened on September 9, 2009, aka 09-09-09.

This also means that the launch will coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Dubai Metro.

The Blue Line for Dubai’s Metro was first discussed back in 2006, along with other potential lines and the expansion of the existing Red and Green lines. Plans changed amid the global economic slowdown, but now… the Blue Line is back on track.

The above map was shared by Dubai Media Office back in November 2023. Although not confirmed, we now know more or less what route the Blue Line will follow when it is operational.

The Dubai Metro Blue Line services nine districts. It will connect to the existing Centrepoint station on the Red Line, and to Creek station on the Green Line…

It will include three interchange stations: Al Jaddaf, Al Rashidiya and International City 1.

From Centrepoint, the Blue Line will run through Mirdif, where there will be a station (most likely) outside Mirdif City Centre Mall. From here it will pass through Al Warqa and then Dubai International City 1, Dubai International City 2 and 3, and Dubai Silicon Oasis before arriving at its last station at Dubai International Academic City.

From Creek, the Blue Line will make its way over the Dubai Creek (the first metro project to cross Dubai Creek on a 1.3 km viaduct) and will have a station in Dubai Festival City and Dubai Creek Harbour, before moving to the Ras Al Khor Industrial Area. From here, it will move towards Dubai International City 1 station, where it will connect with the line coming from Centrepoint – essentially making this metro station a junction (transfer station).

The new route will also benefit students in Dubai International Academic City, thus reducing the need for buses, taxis, and personal cars.

The majority of the 30m track will be underground (about 15.5km in total) to a depth of up to 70 metres, with five (marked in yellow on the map) of the proposed 14 stations being designated as ‘underground stations’.